First off, I apologize for not listing the vintage.  I was given a glass of this wine at a recent fundraiser dinner, and I didn't catch whether this was the 2002, or 2003.  I know it was young, because I remember thinking to myself that this wine was drinking great for such a young gun.  Full credit to Mr. D Bickett for turning me on to this little gem.  Anyone who appreciates Australian wines will intstantly recognize the "Lily's Garden" moniker as part of the Two Hands "garden series" of wines, including the famed Bela's Garden, and the less acclaimed Sophie's Garden, Max's Garden, and Samantha's Garden.  With so many 'garden series" of Shiraz wines from this producer, I admit that I just passed them all by.  Sort of information overload.  Which one to start with?  Which one drinks best young?  You get the idea.

At a dinner last weekend, the gentlemen mentioned above produced a bottle of the Lily's Garden and gave me a glass.  This was really great Shiraz.  It did everything an Aussie Shiraz ought to do.  It had a nice dark color, beautiful extraction, a rich bouquet of mixed black and red fruit, spice, pepper, and a little leather.  There was huge fruit on the palate.  There was a lot of tannin here, but it was so well hidden behind the wall of fruit that you hardly knew it was there.  What a very, very well put together wine that is perfectly made for early consumption, but will no doubt last a long time for those who want to cellar it.  Since I have no experience cellaring this wine, I can not comment on it's evolution for those who wish to cellar it.  In fact, since the winery has only been around since 1999, I doubt anyone can comment intelligently about what the wine will taste like in a decade.  If anyone says they have had a ten year old 2 Hands Shiraz, you know they are shoveling a load of bull!

Great wine.  4 stars

 

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